I remember Conspiracy Theory being a pretty big deal when it was released in 1997. Directed by Richard Donner (The Omen, Superman, The Goonies, Lethal Weapon) and starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, Conspiracy Theory had a lot of promotion behind it. It had to have been over a decade at the very least since I last saw this movie and if you had asked me my thoughts on it, I would have said that it was pretty good.
How to Download Conspiracy Theory
Conspiracy Theory was released on August 8, 1997. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
However, in watching this for the first time in a long time, I have to say, this was nowhere near as good as I remembered it being. I would not say that this is a bad movie or anything like that, but it lasts way too long and has way too many moving parts. It is not that the movie is hard to follow, it just struggled to keep me invested.
Mel Gibson’s Paranoid Protagonist in Conspiracy Theory
The idea of the plot is that we have a guy called Jerry, who is played by Mel Gibson. Jerry is a taxi driver in New York, and he loves to share his conspiracy theories with people. One of the people that Jerry loves to talk with is Alice, a lawyer who is played by Julia Roberts. Alice entertains Jerry’s ramblings about conspiracies as he saved her from being mugged before, but she never really pays all that much attention to them. However, Jerry has a real affection towards Alice.
Government Intrigue and Unexpected Twists
Well, turns out that old Jerry has stumbled onto something as secret government agents kidnap him and now want him dead! Jerry manages to escape, and he gets Alice to try and help him out of this situation. You see, Jerry writes a conspiracy theory newsletter, and he has no idea which one of the conspiracies that he has talked about has made him the target of this agency. In watching this movie back for the first time, I have to say that I got a kick out of Jerry as he is the kind of guy that you just know The Lone Gunmen and Fox Mulder from the X-Files would be buddies with.
Action and Suspense in Conspiracy Theory
There are some pretty fun and frantic action scenes and I liked the way that the movie does make you question Jerry and even Alice in some cases in regards to who can be trusted. Plus, we have a great twist with Jerry in regards to who he is and how his story comes to a close. The trouble with Conspiracy Theory is, is that this is a movie that just lasts way too long. There is no need for this movie to last for two and a half hours at all!
Star Performances: Gibson, Roberts, and Stewart
Mel Gibson does a great job as Jerry, seeing him talk to himself and randoms about his conspiracy theories is pretty entertaining. However, there is a very predictable love story element here, and I honestly think that the movie would have been far better without it. Yes, in 1997, Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts were two of the most gorgeous movie stars around, but they did not need to force this kind of attraction in the movie.
Final Verdict on Conspiracy Theory
Conspiracy Theory is certainly not a bad one, but it is also not a great one either. Mel Gibson had some awesome movies in the 90s, and this one just does not make the cut against the likes of Payback and Ransom. Hey, by all means, give it a watch, but there are far better action thrillers out there than this one. Although I will say that while Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts are the stars, Patrick Stewart was my favorite part of this movie!
